In a conventional circular knitting machine, the knitted cloth is flattened and wound on a winding roller supported by a winding apparatus. When a full roll of knitted cloth has been wound, the winding roller and knitted cloth is removed from the opposed support arms of the winding apparatus. A new winding roller then is mounted on the opposed support arms of the winding apparatus for use in the next cloth winding process.
For increasing efficiency when changing the winding rollers, a winding apparatus having an automated mechanism for changing the winding rollers has been proposed. However, the apparatus is complicated in structure and also requires a multiple number of winding rollers, thus resulting in increased initial investment. In another proposed winding apparatus, two halves of a split winding roller are removed after the knitted cloth has been wound. In this apparatus, the winding roller is split in the center, and each half is pulled right or left. However, the apparatus requires a large installation space, thus reducing the number of adjacent knitting machines which can be positioned in a given space. The winding rollers must be pulled out of the rolled knitted cloth from opposing left and right sides. As a result, in existing knitting mills, the position of the machines must be readjusted and spaced farther from each other.